This is an incredible book- one I wish I could read again for the first time! Can't wait to see what Alison comes out with next.

I loved this book! Such a cute story, with excellent steamy tension. I also appreciated the character representation and seeing a personality that is not usually included in romcoms. I'll definitely be recommending this one!

I absolutely loved and devoured this book! It was so endearing and cute and the representation was everything! I have aleady ordered a physical copy!!!

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. This might have been a case at the wrong book at the wrong time. The long chapters didn't work for me and I found myself losing interest. Giving it a rating here because I can't submit it without it.

The long-running reality dating show Ever After needs a hit of a season if it’s going to keep it up, so the show takes a big bet on its new prince, tech genius Charles Winshaw. But Charlie (who doesn’t believe in true love) has his own motives for joining the show — and it’s to revamp his own image as a tech entrepreneur. His producer and handler, Dev, a hopeless romantic, has his work cut out for him coaching this stand-offish stud — all while navigating producing the show alongside his recent ex-bf of 6 years. Dev and Charlie develop a solid friendship based on truly understanding each other — and to both of their surprise, maybe something even more starts brewing despite romance being incredibly inconvenient given the fact that Charlie is supposed to end the season engaged to a woman!!

My Bachelor-loving heart could not handle this one!!! The premise alone was *chef’s kiss” — I kept telling my friends about it at my two back-to-back pool days this weekend (blessed) and they all were so into it. And the writing!! Gah. Nothing felt to cheesy and Dev and Charlie felt like actual real people! Plus all the “side” characters were so fun and realistic! Anyways I just had a fabulous time with this one! Shout out to @bookmarkedbya for recommending this one for my 12 friends 12 books thingy — and for when I told her I needed a home run of a book this weekend, she reminded me of that fact!!

A really satisfying romance novel! The love story was great but there was more to it than you think there is going to be. Great book!

This was a great installation in the trend of Bachelor related romances. I loved and felt for both characters, can't wait to see more from this author!

I enjoyed this one but didn’t love it. The chemistry just wasn’t there for me. I needed more and just didn’t get it from this one

This was so cute and so sweet! Loved getting to know these characters and seeing how they grew and progressed.

This gave me more reasons why I hate REALITY DATING SHOWS. But the romance build up was so beautiful to see.

I realize now I forgot to right a review for this book when I read it months ago. It’s because I loved it so much I couldn’t write anything. This was one of those books I just wanted to hug for a while after reading. I loved the premise, a Bachelor type reality show!, I loved the characters, and the mental health rep was very week done. It was fantastic and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

I loved this book. I will admit that I am a Bachelor faithful, so when this book got started, I laughed my head off at the "spoof"ness of this book. It is completely a stab at The Bachelor, and I loved that. I even think that the book was referencing certain individuals from the show, but I won't name names. Charlie has just been fired from his job and is in need of a refresh of his image. He goes on the dating show Ever After to try and salvage what he can but finds himself over his head dating 20 women. It gets worse when he realizes he is falling for his producer Dev. But will true love win out even when the show must go on? This is such a fun and delightful rom-com that was absolutely right up my alley. Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC. I loved it. 5 stars.

I’ve been looking for a romance-shaped book about an asexual main character. I didn’t realize, when I started reading, that this book contained one. He was accurately represented, in my estimation, and there are a host of queer side characters who were exciting to read about and get to know.

The plot hooked me as well. One of the main characters is a producer on a reality dating show, who now has to work with his ex on set. He usually handles the ladies on the dating show but, because of a chance interaction, gets assigned to this show’s equivalent of the “the Bachelor”. The Bachelor, our other main character, is a tech guru who is awkward around all humans, but especially women. Because of this, the producer is assigned to live with the Bachelor to try to loosen him up and hijinks ensue.

I really enjoyed this story because it accurately nailed an asexual coming to terms with having feelings (without the crippling identity crisis that usually occurs). It also had a host of wonderful and understanding characters who supported each other, even if others might point and laugh because some (the bachelor) are usually considered weird by the world at large.

This book also gets high marks from me for discussing mental health, for doing an excellent job at describing what a person experiencing their lows looks like and, for having characters pushy enough to want to talk, instead of ignoring the behavior, because they care.

The Charm Offensive is a fun romantic comedy that follows “Ever After” handler Dev and this season’s star Charlie Winshaw. I enjoyed the setting of the novel, which takes place on set of a Bachelor-esc matchmaking showing promise to find the prince his princess. The love story and emotional sides of Dev and Charlie had me not wanting to put this one down.

You might enjoy this one if you enjoy a LGBTQIA+ romance, are a fan of the bachelor, or want to spend time with two witty and maybe somewhat awkward characters that fall in love. Those who enjoy an open door steamy romance will also like this story.

Title: The Charm Offensive
Author: Allison Cochrun
Publication Date: September 7, 2021
Rating: 4 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Synopsis: Producer Dev Deshpande produces a Bachelor-esque reality tv show called Ever After. While Dev is known for scripting fairytale romances, he meets the challenge of his career when grumpy, cynical, and jaded Charlie Winshaw is cast as Prince Charming with an ulterior motive to save his public image. How can Dev turn a true frog into a prince? The answer is not what you are expecting!

My Thoughts: This book felt like a delicious bubbly glass of champagne. It was sweet, funny, endearing, and I loved the LGBTQ representation. I really enjoyed the character development and underlying tones of pushing the status quo in American reality tv.

I enjoyed this book and recommend it for all who enjoy romance, reality tv, and are looking for a happy, light-hearted read.

***I received an ARC from Netgalley and the Publisher in exchange for my honest review.***

For fans of those who enjoyed One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London, comes this LGBTQ friendly remix, Charlie is an adorable, socially awkward, man who had a sudden career change and winds up on a Bachelor-related television show where he is supposed to find, or pretend to find, a female love interest. Dave, who has just gotten out of a serious relationship with a man, works on the show and believes that the show is real and once he hears that Charlie is just wasting time on the "fake" show where he works, devotes his time to turning Charlie into someone who truly will find love. What he did not expect was what came next after spending so much time together. Although relatable, I found this book slow-to-start (hence the 3 stars) and I ended up skipping a lot of the first third of the book. Still, an overall quick read with an easy-to-guess ending. If a fairy-tale ending with a few dashes of Xanex is what you are looking for - this is the book for you.

I have to admit, most of my knowledge of the bachelor franchise comes from the hilarious SNL sketches.

“Can I steal him for a sec?” A classic.

Nevertheless, “The Charm Offensive” is exactly the behind-the-scenes nightmare I would expect of the long-running romantic series.

Reality my ass.

The constant meddling of the greedy producers throughout the book made me so angry for poor Charlie and Dev.

Not to mention the unlucky female contestants.

Then again, it did succeed in making me root even harder for these starcrossed lovers. So I guess it would appear that Alison Cochrun knows what she’s doing.

Touché, Alison. Touché.

And the positive representation of so many underrepresented communities is just the icing on the already delectable cake.

Snaps for giving a voice to the asexual spectrum and OCD.

Although slow to start, overall, this was a great and very well-written read. It only makes me feel silly for waiting so long to devour it for myself.

Before I read this book, Alison Cochrun definitely wasn't n my radar. After finishing, I ran to Goodreads to see what else she had written. Charlie and Dev's relationship is so sweet, and even when the characters are stubborn, the author's writing is so good that it really makes you root for them. 4 stars!

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4/5⭐️⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝: I loved how real this book was about mental health. Between Charlie’s debilitating anxiety and Dev’s depressive episodes that caused him disappear from the world, I found it very refreshing to have these conditions addressed so candidly. When the characters were paralyzed by anxiety/depression, I as a reader also felt incapacitated; yet it was executed really gracefully. I can really appreciate a book that not only portrays mental health, but does so well.

I also loved the amount of diversity in the queer representation. While the main romantic plot was a M:M connection, I loved how the storyline was so inclusive of secondary characters across all aspects of the queer spectrum, both in gender and sexuality.

I’m not a big fan of The Bachelor…but I did watch a few seasons back in the day and found this to be a fun behind-the-scenes scripted drama that depicted all the nonsense about the show that I *really* want to see.
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𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞: While I did really enjoy the diversity of the queer representation, it did feel like this could have been two white characters and nothing would have been different. I think readers would have been given more about Dev’s culture from an Indian author, and I felt I was missing that from this author.

Other things very specific to me are that the chapters were long (I’m always more motivated to pick up a book if I know I can read a quick chapter or two), and the romance was pretty closed-door (I prefer more steam).

This book was really adorable and pretty steamy! I was surprised how much I liked it. I used to watch The Bachelor religiously and this took me back to all those fun and juicy seasons. There were some parts of the book where it dragged a bit, but overall this was an enjoyable read.